This topic is a huge one for writers, and I'll say right off that I can't begin to cover every detail of GMC in a single blog. I'm going to stick to the basics here. I highly recommend buying/borrowing a copy of Deb Dixon's book on GMC--Goal, Motivation, and Conflict: The Building Blocks of Good Fiction. It's a great resource for all fiction writers, even those of us who are pantsers and plantsers!
Goal--What are your characters' goals? Define them, whether in your head or on paper. They can be general or specific, but they have to be part of the plot or subplot.
Motivation--Why does your character need to achieve this goal? What's in it for him/her? Does a past experience influence this motivation? Or maybe his current situation drives his need to accomplish his goal.
Conflict--What events will happen to prevent the character from reaching his/her goal? These can be internal and/or external. Internal conflicts provide the character with room to grow (the character arc) and a struggle against himself. External conflicts are outside influences that can directly or indirectly affect his path toward the goal.
Example:
Goals
Heroine, Sarah, wants to prevent her mother from remarrying.
Hero, Hank, wants to turn an empty factory into condos.
Motivations
Sarah believes the man is marrying her mother for money and property.
Hank thinks the building is an eyesore and can be put to better use. Plus, he could make some money to pay off his divorce lawyer.
Conflicts
Hank's father is the man who wants to marry Sarah's mother. (external)
After seeing the couple together, Sarah thinks the man might actually love her mother. (internal)
Sarah's mother owns the empty factory. (external)
Sarah is concerned the marriage is simply a way for Hank to get his hands on the property. (internal)
Sara wants her mother to donate the empty factory to the town for a new library. (external)
Do you get the idea of how GMC works?
Plotters, this process fits in with your outlines, character bios, story boards, etc.
Pantsers, be sure GMC is a part of your story as it unfolds.
Plantsers, use whatever combination of plotter and pantser tools you need to let that story tell itself.
Remember--without GMC, you have a series of unconnected events happening for no apparent reason!
Now I need to plant myself in my chair and write!!! Pacing is up next week!
Mellanie Szereto
Romance...With A Kick!
Showing posts with label Plotter or Pantser. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Plotter or Pantser. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Writing Tip Wednesday--Backstory vs. Exposition
**Last day to enter for a chance to win an e-book! Leave a comment on any Writing Tip Wednesday post or drop me an e-mail at mellanieszereto(at)hotmail(dot)com by midnight on March 6th!**
In recent months, I've noticed a lot of agents and editors commenting on Twitter about submissions they've rejected because the author either opened with page after page of backstory and no action or had a great opening action scene followed by pages of backstory. Some of the contest entries I've judged have had similar issues.
How much backstory is too much? And what is exposition?
You've thought of a fantastic idea for a story, so you start getting to know your characters. If you're a Plotter, you might create a character bio, listing physical characteristics of your hero/heroine and finding the perfect celebrity to represent him/her. You know this person's history--he's the oldest of four siblings, he's overprotective of his baby sister, his dog died when he was 12, etc. Is all of this information vital to your story?
Probably not. Some of it helps define your character's GMC (goals, motivation, and conflicts), but the reader doesn't need to know much of what you know about the hero/heroine. If the hero recognizes a smell, he might be reminded of his grandmother's kitchen at Thanksgiving. It can have a positive or negative affect. Do we also need to know that when he was eight years old, his grandmother spent weeks in the hospital from gall bladder surgery complications? That's a backstory dump unless the heroine is about to undergo gall bladder surgery and he's worried she might die.
By adding small instances of past experiences here and there, we get the information we need at the right time rather than a giant info dump. That's exposition. You expose pieces of the character's history when they're influencing current actions, reactions, and behavior.
Remember that info/backstory dumps can be in narrative or dialogue. If your character has a scar, is she going to talk about the details of how it happened with someone who was there or already knows the story? Not likely. As with POV, be the character. Think about her relationship with other characters in the scene. How much would she tell a stranger? Is she self-conscious of the scar? All these things influence how much exposition you should use in dialogue, whether spoken or internal.
Backstory and exposition, like many other aspects of writing craft, are best when used in moderation. Sure, you have to take more time and care when creating your story, but your end product will be better for the effort--and your readers will love you for it!
In writing this blog, I'm wondering if backstory tends to be a bigger problem for Plotters... If you have thorough knowledge of your character's life history, are you more likely to have problems with backstory dumps??? And what about Pantsers? If you don't know your character, do you have more issues with contradictory or inconsistent behavior???
Hmm... Something to think about until next week's post on Characterization.
Thanks for stopping by!
Mellanie Szereto
Romance...With A Kick!
In recent months, I've noticed a lot of agents and editors commenting on Twitter about submissions they've rejected because the author either opened with page after page of backstory and no action or had a great opening action scene followed by pages of backstory. Some of the contest entries I've judged have had similar issues.
How much backstory is too much? And what is exposition?
You've thought of a fantastic idea for a story, so you start getting to know your characters. If you're a Plotter, you might create a character bio, listing physical characteristics of your hero/heroine and finding the perfect celebrity to represent him/her. You know this person's history--he's the oldest of four siblings, he's overprotective of his baby sister, his dog died when he was 12, etc. Is all of this information vital to your story?
Probably not. Some of it helps define your character's GMC (goals, motivation, and conflicts), but the reader doesn't need to know much of what you know about the hero/heroine. If the hero recognizes a smell, he might be reminded of his grandmother's kitchen at Thanksgiving. It can have a positive or negative affect. Do we also need to know that when he was eight years old, his grandmother spent weeks in the hospital from gall bladder surgery complications? That's a backstory dump unless the heroine is about to undergo gall bladder surgery and he's worried she might die.
By adding small instances of past experiences here and there, we get the information we need at the right time rather than a giant info dump. That's exposition. You expose pieces of the character's history when they're influencing current actions, reactions, and behavior.
Remember that info/backstory dumps can be in narrative or dialogue. If your character has a scar, is she going to talk about the details of how it happened with someone who was there or already knows the story? Not likely. As with POV, be the character. Think about her relationship with other characters in the scene. How much would she tell a stranger? Is she self-conscious of the scar? All these things influence how much exposition you should use in dialogue, whether spoken or internal.
Backstory and exposition, like many other aspects of writing craft, are best when used in moderation. Sure, you have to take more time and care when creating your story, but your end product will be better for the effort--and your readers will love you for it!
In writing this blog, I'm wondering if backstory tends to be a bigger problem for Plotters... If you have thorough knowledge of your character's life history, are you more likely to have problems with backstory dumps??? And what about Pantsers? If you don't know your character, do you have more issues with contradictory or inconsistent behavior???
Hmm... Something to think about until next week's post on Characterization.
Thanks for stopping by!
Mellanie Szereto
Romance...With A Kick!
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Writing Tip Wednesday--Plotter or Pantser?
***GIVEAWAY ALERT--Leave a comment by March 6th for a chance to win one of five pdf copies of Playing in the Raine!!!***
Everybody seems to have an opinion about plotting vs. pantsing. What? You've never heard of this great controversy?
We need some definitions...
Plotter: A writer who plans a manuscript before writing. This can involve outlines, storyboards, character bios, etc. Many of these stories are plot-driven.
Pantser: A writer who writes a manuscript with no preparation, allowing the characters to tell the story. These books are usually more character-driven.
Which is the right way?
Does one work better than the other?
Which are you?
My opinion--There is no right way. I'm not trying to be diplomatic. I really believe each writer has his/her own method that works for him/her. So, which am I???
A Plantser. That's right. I'm a combination of the two.
My process typically involves an idea popping into my head at a most inopportune time, like when I'm in the middle of another WIP. The idea is almost always characters finding themselves in a particular situation that challenges them to work toward a happily ever after. Several scenes develop in my head over a period of days or weeks, forming the most basic of plot lines.
Then I sit down to write. The perfect character names are essential, and usually by this time, I know the hero and heroine well enough to choose fitting names. I tend to use the opening scene for characterization, putting the character in a stressful position to see how he/she handles the pressure. The hero/heroine often leads me in the direction I need to go to reach the next scene. My characters always seem to know when and how they should meet (or realize the attraction if they already know each other), whether it's a confrontation or a crisis bringing them together. With the few basics of the plot line, the story continues toward the final happily ever after. Usually, the plot makes a few unexpected turns along the way and the characters say and do things that surprise me--but I enjoy this method of writing.
However, what works for me doesn't necessarily work for everybody else. Occasionally, plantsing doesn't work for the book I'm writing, and I have to do more plotting and planning. Sometimes, the characters take over, straying from my intended plot.
Are you a plotter or a pantser? Or are you a plantser like me? :)
Happy Writing!!! And don't forget to comment by March 6th for a chance to win a copy of Playing in the Raine!If you're unable to comment, drop me an e-mail (mellanieszereto@hotmail.com) for a chance to win!
Next week--Misplaced Modifiers!
Mellanie Szereto
Romance...With A Kick!
Everybody seems to have an opinion about plotting vs. pantsing. What? You've never heard of this great controversy?
We need some definitions...
Plotter: A writer who plans a manuscript before writing. This can involve outlines, storyboards, character bios, etc. Many of these stories are plot-driven.
Pantser: A writer who writes a manuscript with no preparation, allowing the characters to tell the story. These books are usually more character-driven.
Which is the right way?
Does one work better than the other?
Which are you?
My opinion--There is no right way. I'm not trying to be diplomatic. I really believe each writer has his/her own method that works for him/her. So, which am I???
A Plantser. That's right. I'm a combination of the two.
My process typically involves an idea popping into my head at a most inopportune time, like when I'm in the middle of another WIP. The idea is almost always characters finding themselves in a particular situation that challenges them to work toward a happily ever after. Several scenes develop in my head over a period of days or weeks, forming the most basic of plot lines.
Then I sit down to write. The perfect character names are essential, and usually by this time, I know the hero and heroine well enough to choose fitting names. I tend to use the opening scene for characterization, putting the character in a stressful position to see how he/she handles the pressure. The hero/heroine often leads me in the direction I need to go to reach the next scene. My characters always seem to know when and how they should meet (or realize the attraction if they already know each other), whether it's a confrontation or a crisis bringing them together. With the few basics of the plot line, the story continues toward the final happily ever after. Usually, the plot makes a few unexpected turns along the way and the characters say and do things that surprise me--but I enjoy this method of writing.
However, what works for me doesn't necessarily work for everybody else. Occasionally, plantsing doesn't work for the book I'm writing, and I have to do more plotting and planning. Sometimes, the characters take over, straying from my intended plot.
Are you a plotter or a pantser? Or are you a plantser like me? :)
Happy Writing!!! And don't forget to comment by March 6th for a chance to win a copy of Playing in the Raine!If you're unable to comment, drop me an e-mail (mellanieszereto@hotmail.com) for a chance to win!
Next week--Misplaced Modifiers!
Mellanie Szereto
Romance...With A Kick!
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